Around 35 million people in Bangladesh are still living below the poverty line, including nearly 10 million facing extreme poverty, while another 20 million remain vulnerable to falling back into poverty, according to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

CPD Distinguished Fellow and Citizen’s Platform Convener Debapriya Bhattacharya revealed the figures at a programme organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Caucus for the Rights of Disadvantaged People at the China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka on Thursday.

He said that although Bangladesh had made significant progress in reducing the poverty rate, the number of people living in poverty remained high.

Of the country’s 180 million population, approximately 35 million are below the poverty line, while nearly 10 million are experiencing extreme poverty. Another 20 million people who have moved above the poverty threshold remain economically vulnerable and could fall back into poverty if they fail to secure work for just two days, he added.

Debapriya said the situation was also reflected in the white paper published during the interim government’s tenure.

He observed that Bangladesh had achieved considerable economic progress over the past 55 years, but social transformation and changes in political culture had not kept pace with economic development. One of the major reasons was the failure to adequately integrate the most disadvantaged and marginalised communities into the mainstream economy and society.

Highlighting the employment situation, he said one in every four young people in the country was unemployed. The unemployment rate among educated youths was even higher, with one in every three remaining without a job.

Although Bangladesh’s average life expectancy had reached around 74 years, disadvantaged communities continued to face higher child mortality rates, school dropout rates and child labour, he added.

He also pointed out that sanitation workers, persons with physical disabilities, residents of drought-prone areas in northern Bangladesh and coastal communities remained deprived of adequate access to education, healthcare and social protection.

Despite overall economic progress, the benefits of development had not reached these vulnerable groups equally, he said.

Debapriya further noted that disadvantaged people were disproportionately affected by misgovernance, corruption and nepotism. They often failed to receive proper dignity and justice from administrative institutions, political structures and even civil society.

Warning that the achievements of the more privileged sections of society could also be at risk if they remained indifferent to the rights of marginalised people, he said such exclusion could threaten democracy, development and social stability.

He stressed that ensuring the rights of disadvantaged communities was not solely the responsibility of civil society organisations or private entrepreneurs. Elected representatives must also take direct responsibility for protecting the rights and interests of the people whose votes brought them to power.